- Porsche 360
Porsche 360 Cisitalia is an
automobile fromPorsche introduced in 1949. The nameCisitalia (short for "Consorzio Industriale Sportive Italia") is the name of the company that ordered the model.History
The car was commissioned by
Piero Dusio in 1946. Dusio paid a large sum of money up front, part of which was used to freeFerdinand Porsche from the French prison in which he was being held effectively forransom . Dusio gave Porsche only 16 months to complete the car which proved too short a time to sort out the advanced design.Design
The Dr. Porsche designed unraced 1939 1,482.56 cc (53.0 x 56.0 mm) 2-stage Roots supercharged V12 Auto-Union had been projected to deliver 327 bhp at 9,000 rpm. This provided the basis of the Cisitalia 360 car which was built around a mid mounted supercharged 1,492.58 cc (56.0 x 50.5 mm) flat 12 engine giving a conservative Convert|300|hp|kW|0|abbr=on at 8,500 rpm and a top speed of Auto km/h|300|0. A fully enclosed streamlined body for fast circuits was planned giving over 200 mph. Later bench tests showed about 385 bhp at 10,500 rpm. The chassis was of
chromoly tubing and featured on/off four wheel drive with a sequential gear-shift and a rear mountedtransaxle also sending power through adriveshaft to a front differential. Suspension wastrailing arm in frontDe Dion tube in the rear. Porsche's experience with the pre-war Auto Union Grand Prix cars showed through in the layout and design of the Cisitalia to the extant that it has been referred to as the "E Type".Legacy
By the time the only prototype was finished Dusio was out of cash. The car languished in development until 1951, at one point being shipped off to
Argentina to try and persuade dictatorJuan Perón to invest in the company. By 1952Formula One rules had changed and while Dusio attempted to source a 2 liter motor for the car a lack of funds relagated one of the most advanced Grand Prix cars of its day to a fewFormula Libre events and quick retirement. The car is currently on display in the Porsche Museum inStuttgart .References
[http://www.forix.com/8w/rear-engines-postwar.html 8W The rear-engined revolution: Horses pushing the cart]
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